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4As Malaysia issues letter to MAS for pitch fees

The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) has issued a letter to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) regarding its pitch.

Earlier, the airline called for a pitch for its business with at least 15 network agencies involved. This includes several branding agencies from Singapore.

The 4As has since issued a letter to MAS regarding the pitch.

4As executive director Kenneth Wong told A+M that the intention was to protect its members and remind the client to pay agencies that did not win the pitch. He added that this was a standard practice for 4As – to send reminders to clients to pay pitch fees to losing agencies. “This is particularly important for clients with many agencies in a pitch; this will make them have to keep the number down,” said Wong. This is also aimed at keeping a level of professionalism for the client, he added.

The mandatory amount to pay agencies that have lost is RM10,000. While not a big amount, as losses for an agency can run into hundreds of thousands, this still helps to defray costs, said Wong.

However, as with the MAS pitch, this does not apply to non-members. Wong said that MAS has agreed to comply with this.

Meanwhile, a source has told A+M that the pitch is largely procurement led. It is due to complete by July, as earlier stated by the airline.

However, in the latest developments, the submission date for the first round of the pitch has been extended from its previous 8 May deadline. “It was simply too short,” said one agency.

The incumbent agency is Ogilvy & Mather. The pitch involves all branding and marketing duties for MAS, with three components to the pitch: visual identity, brand pitch and creative execution.